We’ve gotten so used to communicating via emails that we might assume they’re more private and protected than they really are. Yahoo!Mail is just now offering users a new option that can help them protect their privacy.

So what was the problem and what’s the option? Graham Cluley gives an excellent explanation and the “how to do it steps” in a recent article (“Using Yahoo Mail? You should turn on this privacy option as soon as possible”; nakedsecurity.sophos.com, January 8). Very simply, Yahoo!Mail hadn’t been offering users the option of accessing their emails through HTTPS. As Mr. Cluley wrote, Yahoo!Mail users who don’t turn on HTTPS for their webmail can have those emails read and received by anyone on the user’s WiFi network using a tool such as FireSheep. Why? because non-HTTPS webmail is sent as unencrypted text.

Mr. Cluley’s article will walk Yahoo!Mail users through the steps to enable the HTTPS privacy option. He includes a screen shot from Yahoo!Mail, highlights the key instruction language and shows how easy it is to turn on the SSL privacy option.

This is a fast and important privacy enhancing option for Yahoo!Mail users —please take the time to protect your emails.